Mardy Fish replaced Andy Roddick as
the No. 1 U.S. men’s tennis player after reaching the semifinals
of the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida.

Fish, 29, yesterday beat No. 6 seed David Ferrer of Spain,
7-5, 6-2, a result that is set to elevate him to a career best
11th place in the next world rankings.

“I don’t think I would ever feel like I was the No. 1
American,” Fish said. “Andy has had a pretty good career. You
can put his career on top of mine about six times. He’s always
going to be the top dog in my generation.”

Roddick, 28, who lost his opening match, is expected to
fall to 14th from eighth in the world rankings.

Fish will play second-seeded Novak Djokovic tomorrow for a
place in the final. Djokovic beat South Africa’s Kevin Anderson
6-4, 6-2 last night. Fish said in a video interview on the ATP
World Tour website that he will climb into the top 10 in the
world if he beats the Serbian.

Fish has won almost $4.9 million during his decade-long
professional tennis career. Last year, as the No. 2 American, he
had a career-high 40 match wins in the first year after he
recovered from a broken rib and left knee surgery.

Since 2003, he has won five titles, at Stockholm, Houston,
Delray Beach, Atlanta and Newport.